Core plugs for steel coils have traditionally been made with a cylindrical portion to fit the inside of the coil and a radial flange to abut the end of the coil so that the coil may be lifted and supported on the core plug for handling. However steel coils are not entirely uniform in their inner diameter. For that reason a core plug of fixed diameter may need to be wedged into an inner diameter that is too small or otherwise secured to a steel coil having an inner diameter that is too large, or the core plug may simply be too loose.
This invention remedies these problems by forming the cylindrical core plug with a short gap which is bridged by means of a separate piece having locking ends. By providing separate pieces of different lengths, the split core plug may be expanded to whatever diameter is needed to snugly fit into a steel coil, greatly simplifying handling.
One of the objects of this invention is to provide a core plug for a steel coil that fits a wide tolerance of inner coil diameters. Another object is to provide a core plug that is easy to install and easy to remove. Another object is to provide a core plug that can be used in a variety of different size inner diameters of steel coils by simply changing one part. Yet a further object is to provide a core plug that is durable and can be re-used or recycled. These and other objects of my invention will become evident in the following descriptions.